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Niskanen to Caps biggest move on busy day

The Washington Capitals made a couple of bold moves, bolstering the blue line behind Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin and giving defensive-minded coach Barry Trotz the pieces he sought to build an NHL winner.

The Washington Capitals made a couple of bold moves, bolstering the blue line behind Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin and giving defensive-minded coach Barry Trotz the pieces he sought to build an NHL winner.

Washington signed defenseman Matt Niskanen to a seven-year, $40.25 million contract soon after sealing a $27.5 million, five-year deal with defenseman Brooks Orpik on Tuesday in the opening hours of NHL free agency.

Some franchises, though, stayed out of the fray and allowed other teams to perhaps overpay for the best players available.

Colorado veteran Paul Stastny cashed in on being available, signing a $28 million, four-year contract with the St. Louis Blues, a Central Division rival.

The Minnesota Wild signed Austrian forward Thomas Vanek to a $19.5 million, three-year deal, two summers after investing a lot in free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

Dallas got a jump on the competition before free agency began, acquiring high-scoring forward Jason Spezza in a trade with Ottawa, taking advantage of having space under the salary cap.

“A lot of the teams that are up against the cap, they can’t do anything,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “We had lots of room. This worked out well for us. I look forward to Jason Spezza being a Dallas Star for many years.”

Spezza, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer, asked for a trade and previously turned down a deal that would have sent him to Nashville.

Before the sun set on Day 1 of free agency, more than 10 teams handed out contracts worth more than $4 million a season.

The Buffalo Sabres, who had the fewest points in the NHL last season, and Florida Panthers, who were barely better, were very aggressive.

Buffalo infused its roster with veteran talent, giving forward Matt Moulson $25 million over five years and forward Brian Gionta a $12.75 million, three-year contract.

San Jose and Carolina were among the franchises hoping that drafting and developing players will help them more than offering big contracts to free agents.

“One of the more desperate days of the hockey season,” Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos said. “A lot of our brethren are out running around trying to see how much money they can spend and when the dust settles they’ll figure out whether or not they have a hockey team.”

Columbus, Toronto and Detroit invested a lot one year ago in some of the top free agents — Nathan Horton, David Clarkson and Stephen Weiss, respectively — and each team probably wishes it had spent that money on other players.

The Avalanche had quite a turnaround last year with 18-year-old Nathan MacKinnon and on a day they lost a key player, Stastny, they picked up an aging player who has proven he’s still got it.

Jarome Iginla signed a three-year, $16 million deal on Tuesday, his 37th birthday, with Colorado after the wing had 30 goals to tie for the most in Boston last season. The Avs also acquired a veteran defenseman, Brad Stuart from San Jose, for a second-round pick in two years and a sixth-round selection in 2017.

The Tampa Bay Lightning also were active, landing veteran defensemen Dan Boyle and Anton Stralman to give the team more grit after it was swept in the first round of the playoffs. They also added Kazakh goaltender Evgeni Nabokov after not having a backup capable of playing well when Ben Bishop was hurt in April.

Mike Cammalleri signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the New Jersey Devils, giving them a desperately needed offensive boost.

The Detroit Red Wings, who signed restricted free agent forward Riley Sheahan to a $1.9 million, two-year contract, hope to figure out ways in free agency or through trades to improve their team while the 41-year-old Daniel Alfredsson decides to play or retire.

“If his back feels good in August, we’ll talk about a one-year deal with him,” Holland said. “He’s not going to sign a deal with anyone else.”